my name is karen and i am part of the japantown planning effort. i want to thank the city as a whole for being so supportive of the efforts we are making. over the last year, we have been reviewing in small committees are draft plan. we are now heading into our final community comment period and we need the support of the city. i also want to say to audience members, pick up one of these pink fliers. please come to our meetings if you can. what happens in japantown will have echoes and the facts on the larger and western admission -- addition. thank you. >> thank you, karen. daniel, please. >> mayor lee, supervisor mirkarimi, the department heads, i want to say two things that stick out in my mind about this whole setting. i know the department of education is not here. we are talking about budget and money. however, our community is yearning, especially the disenfranchised community of the western addition, to be educated. when we speak about money, to really speak about money, you have to have an enlightened community. that is not so good that we

my name is karen and i am part of the japantown planning effort. i want to thank the city as a whole for being so supportive of the efforts we are making. over the last year, we have been reviewing in small committees are draft plan. we are now heading

it's in san francisco's japantown. dry mouth is uncomfortable. it can also lead to serious dental problems. [ male announcer ] new act total care dry mouth is alcohol-free and has fluoride to strengthen teeth. stronger teeth and dry mouth relief. the kincaids live here. across the street, the padillas. ben and his family live here, too. ben's a re/max agent, and he's a big part of this community. there are lots of reasons why re/max agents average more sales than other agents. experience, certainly. but maybe it's also because they care about the markets they serve and the neighbors who rely on them. nobody sells more real estate than re/max. visit remax.com today. >> closed captioning brought to you by mancini sleepworld. >>> the northern california cherry blossom is now underway in san francisco's japantown. ♪ >> this was the scene yesterday and it continues today. this is the 44th year. if you go you can enjoy festivities with food, live band bands and performances. this event is supposed to be second large cherry blossom outside of washington

what is going on in japantown in terms of the ongoing planning process is truly a partnership. the community is largely taking the lead in that partnership right now. on the tables behind, when you signed in, there was a pink flyer that was handed out. we will be engaging with the greater community about the future of japan town and responses to that better neighborhoods plan. i can assure you that the plan we are working closely with the dead -- the community to development will have implementation as one of its central considerations. we will do everything we can to make sure that planning supports it with appropriate zoning and controls to ensure the success the mayor has talked about and the economic vitality for japantown into the future. i wanted to stress that this could not be done without a true city partnership with the community itself. >> ok. there are a number of cards are received where people want to make statements. i am going to leave some minutes toward the end of the meeting for people to make statements themselves. i will not read the statement. you can do t

we got the cherry blossom special going on in japantown and of course we got the giants playing tonight at at&t park this evening. game starts at 7:00 but pre-game ceremonies where they give the world series winners rings. we'll have a full forecast in about 30 second from now. >> east bay landmark disappeared all at once yesterday in a cloud of smoke. >> it took 800 pounds of dynamite to level oakland's oak knoll naval hospital. it had nearly 600 beds when it opened and closed in 1996. they hope to replace it with homes, parks and stores. we'll have more on the engineering feat coming up in 30 minutes. i promised jeff martinez would be here and here you are. >> here i will. finally a nice -- it's been a crazy couple of weeks. today is great. if you are heading up to the slopes. nice shot from heavenly cam. the lifts are running. did have a few scattered snow showers around lake tahoe but nothing major. it's going to be a good smooth sailing if you are hitting the roadways, no chain controls in effect both on 80 and 50. look at this lovely shot. sutro cam showing the golden gate gorgeou

take you to the cherry blossom special. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,, kicked off this weekend in san francisco's japantown... with performanc the 44th northern california cherry blossom festival kicked off with performances, food. the celebration celebrates japanese and japanese-american culture. it's said to be the second largest festival outside of washington, dc. the festival continues next weekend with the grand parade on april 17th. >>> all right. lawrence is joining us. we have had a beautiful weekend. is that about to come to a screeching halt? >> yes, the clouds are gathering out there right now. it doesn't look like anything huge, but it could bring some raindrops as we head out tomorrow. just a little breezy outside in spots. out toward the golden gates, you're looking nice and clear now. over the bay, looking great. yesterday we had a lot of white caps on the water. not today. the winds were not howling like they were. tomorrow we're going to see some changes. no getting around it. we could see some showers mainly north of the golden gate bridge. the temperatures are going to be cooler across t

in japantown, those attending the cherry blossom festival had their minds on victims thousands of miles away. the images in japan remind san francisco of the past and future. the probability of another quake hitting the bay area in six years is greater than 60%. >> very few people are prepared for diz astzer. have food and water for 72 hours at a minimum. >> the american red cross says it is worth repeating. first, make a plan. know who you would call and where you would meet. make sure everyone in your family has that information, including children. second, build a kit. it should include first aid supplies, food and water. be prepared. review your plan and get training in cpr and first aid. >> preparedness and a plan doesn't cost money. it's easy to spend money and spend a kit. really, it's the thought that is important. thinking about the plan, communicating the plan. >>> there's a website called 72hours.org. it has what to do during a quake. read it ahead of time. >>> a popular dog park is closed today. a woman took her dog to the park saturday. within minutes, the dog became very i

the 44th northern california cherry blossom festival kicked off in san francisco's japantown, with performancesic and food. it celebrates japanese and japanese-american culture. it coincides with the blooming of the cherry blossom. it's said to be the second largest festival outside of washington, dc. the festival continues next weekend. hopefully we'll have good weather, with a grand parade on april 17th. >>> it seems like everybody is celebrating. the giants go for a sweep of the cardinals on this championship weekend. tiger takes the lead at the master's and then the fun really begins next. ,,,, [ male announcer ] for 5 bucks, you can get a sub. or...you can get all this. kfc's $5 everyday meals. 5 meals, 5 bucks. choose from one of the colonel's favorites, like two pieces of original recipe. your choice of sides, biscuit and a medium drink, just 5 bucks. 5 freshly made today. 5 for 5 bucks every day. so why get a sub, when you can get a whole meal -- any day? today is a kfc day. and today tastes so good. mmm. ahh. yeah. bacon. come celebrate baconalia! only at denny's. america's diner is al

efforts are front and center at the northern california cherry blossom festival on san francisco's japantown. this year marks the 44th year of the festival that celebrates japanese culture through food, art and music. this year the proceeds will benefit the northern japan earthquake relief funneled. the festival continues next weekend on. saturday, a special charity event called raise the flag will be to help ongoing relief efforts. in japanese culture, it represents the transence of life. >>> it was a funny day. it started out cloudy, then not so much. >> we had the three hours of nice weather. it is cooling off pretty quickly. you can see we're down to 56 in san francisco. look at gilroy. not too bad. still hanging on to skk degrees. low 60s around san jose. it is breezy. 15 to 25 miles per hour winds. a closer look around the bay area, 62. you just saw that. san jose. in oakland, you see the wind west at 18 miles an hour. and into san francisco, it is a northwest wind at 12. and temperatures in the mid 50s. we do have clouds on the approach. you'll see these around sunset. these will be t

that turned out today for the annual northern california cherry blossom festival in san francisco's japantownthis is the 44th year people enjoyed the festivities with food, live bands and cultural performances. it's said to the second largest cherry blossom outside of washington, d.c. if you missed it today, you can always check it out tomorrow, the last day it will be happening and great weather. that is it for "abc 7 news." i'm alan wang, with lee and rick in for shu. connect 24/7 with all the day's news at abc7news.com. good night.

today's free concert in japantown's peace plaza included hawaiian music, dance, and several bay areaands playing funk, sole, fusion, reggae and rock. donation goes know northern japan earthquake relief fund. >> the hearst corporation is considering choosing a fee for using sf gate.com. chronicle staffers quoted say the paper wants to roll out a payment system along with a digital sun psychiatric -- transcription for the ipad application. as many as half of the stories available would be restricted to paying subscribers. no word on what the fee might be. >>> superheroes descended on the moscone center. comic took fans are flooding san francisco, and tonight they held a parade and costume competition. contestants dressed up in their best designs and performed as their characters. the judges and audience, the winners receives cash prizes from dc comics and lucas films. it wraps up top. >> some big kids. >> leigh: absolutely. terrific night tonight. the winds have started to die down. we have clearing skies. that's going translate into colder temperatures tonight. here's a look from the

y arade from the civic center to japantown.s the 44th year for the >>> san francisco's cherry blossom's festival wrapped up today. it's the 44th year for the festival which features boy scout troops from the japanese american communities plus drummers, folk dancers and the queen and her court. it celebrates the coming of queen and japanese culture. >>> spring was here for a split second and now lawrence is telling us it's about to leave again. >> back to winter again, looks like. most of this is low clouds. but we've got high level clouds moving in. looks like we could see some showers in just a few hours now as things start to change. we head back toward a wintry pattern. in the meantime, that satellite image is showing you some of the showers making their way onshore. they have been hanging out here for the better part of the day. you can see some of these showers sagging a little further to the south now. so it looks like the system is going to be moving through. it will be bring with it lots of clouds and cooling temperatur

paul, representing the san francisco planning department tonight and working closely with folks in japantown. >> the evening. i am with the mta. we always see transportation in the -- we oversee transportation in the city. >> i am the third greg on the panel, chief of police. >> ann of northern station. >> ed riskin of the department of public works. >> i maria, director for the department of children, youth, and their families. >> ladies and gentlemen -- >> thank you. thank you. thank you. can everybody hear me? all right. you may not see me, but you can hear me. ed lee, your mayor. i'm happy to join supervisor mirkarimi and all of the department heads here tonight. this is the ninth of the 10 town hall meetings we had all of the city to introduce to you the challenge of our budget, but most importantly, to listen to you tell us what san francisco's priorities ought to be, and i have been doing this because i believe that our budget should never be decided within just the halls of city hall, that we have to go out to every community and open up the dialogue and allow you to tell us those pr

annual cherry blossom festival wrapped up today with a parade from the civic center to japantown.n francisco's annual cherry blossom festival wraps up today with a parade from the civic center to downtown. it's the 44th year for the festival which features boy scout troops from the african- american community as well as folk dancers and the festival queen and her cohorts, it celebrates the coming of spring and the japanese culture. a good day for that lawrence? >> yes, you feel spring coming? >> if i said yes what would you say next? yes? >> i feel a little winter coming back right now as we look like we're going to see a little unsettled weather. some rain looking to make its way back into the bay area, outside today we enjoyed a pretty nice day, a couple of patches of fog inside the bay. very thick out at the beaches and even reports some drizzle there with some cool temperatures. still we managed to squeeze in some 60s and 70s in many parts of the bay area. but there is a storm brog. we're already beginning to see some of the showers showing up in far northern california. you c

the event started this weekend in san francisco's japantown where people encouraged donations to theorthern japan earthquake relief fund. the festival draws thousands of people and celebrates japanese culture through food, music and more. you can check it out next weekend as well. >>> you know, rob, i had a viewer call in and say the picture behind me was bouncing around a little bit and that's all because of the wind out there, i suppose, right? >> either that or earthquakes. we know we don't have any earthquakes right now. you can see we've got gorgeous blue skies right over the golden gate bridge, but it is a little breezy out there with winds 15 to 25 miles an hour. south san jose getting up to 66 degrees. look at san francisco. thanks to the wind, by the way, keeping temperatures down to 57, 63 around san ramon and concord today and 66 in santa rosa. still breezy in san jose as well, northwest wind at 17 miles an hour. temperatures cooling into the 50s the in oakland and san francisco. you can see the wind out of the west at 15 miles per hour. in terms of temperatures, we've got

hundreds are expected in the peace plaza in japantown. it begins at 5:30. >>> a broken water main is effecting more than a dozen homes this morning. it happened at shattic avenue. ktvu jade hernandez joining us live she is in berkeley. how do people find out about this in the first place? >> reporter: homeowners we spoke to heard rushing water. they had no idea it was this. >> i was awakened by a very, very loud sound of water rushing. i looked out the window and saw water coming down both sides of my house. >> reporter: you are looking at one berkeley homeowner woke up to this morning. his backyard is along shattuc avenue and los angeles. when he first arrived he and his wife did not rush to pick up sandbags because they waited for the water to turn off. it took an hour between 2:30 and 3:30 before they could identify and shut off the water. an east bay mud water said a six inch steel pipe burst over night. for now, residents along this block about 30 households will be without water for three to eight hours. the homeowner says he will h

. >> a special moment in japantown's peace plaza in san francisco yesterday. 300 foot flag was unfurledtographed from the sky to raise money on relief efforts in japan. the organizers hope to inspire other cities around the world to hold what they call raise the flag as high event. >> in 1906 the biggest catastrophe in san francisco and japan was the biggest one on that donated money than any other nation. >> the event was held in con destruction with the ongoing cherry blossom festival. they are hoping to raise $100,000 for earthquake relief. they are holding a thousand dollar a plate fund-raising dinner in san francisco. in san francisco the city is remembering that 1906 earthquake on the anniversary of the temblor. there will be a series of commemorative festivities starting tomorrow. the town fan is where messages and information were relayed to survivors. today one of the last of three survivors will speak at luncheon. he is 105 years old. this year the ceremonies will be dedicated to japanese quake victims. you heard one gentleman hear how they helped out before and we are helping

head out to cherry blossom special in japantown today.he city, all day today and tomorrow. it goes on for two weeks. >> that will be so much fun. thanks so much. >> the end came for the former oak knoll naval hospital in oakland. after few booms, it was gone. it opens the door for a new era in the oakland hills. as lyanne melendez reports a lot of people came out to say goodbye to the memories. >> it was one of those you had to be there moments. she would not have missed it. she worked at the hospital on and off from 1972 to 1996 when it closed. >> my insides were shaking. it was like watching something you love go away permanently. it meant so many things to so many people. >> his son was born here. >> born here in 1985. it was cold as all winter in november. it was even cold in the hospital. you needed to wear a jacket to stay there. >> the hospital opened in 1968. it served medical personnel throughout different conflicts. it was a huge training facility. when the base closed the empty building begin to attract the homeless who started

city maybe check out the dragon boat races at lake merced and also the cherry blossom festival in japantownoing on right now for the second weekend. >>> another key hurdle is just about complete on the new eastern span of the bay bridge. crews are installing a 15-foot tall, 480 ton section called a grillet. caltrans provided animation. it's used to hold together the legs on the tower. >> the main tower is self-anchored bridge and four legs and think of it as a stool, we're right putting the seat on top of the stool. >> janelle: it will help secure another 500 ton section known as the saddle in a video supplied by caltrans. it will hold the cables on 3525 foot tower in place. caltrans says the new $3.6 billion span is expected to be completed in 2013. >> competitors from across the country and overseas will be climbing into cages and engaging in mortal combat but the contestants are robots. there are more to robo games than meets the lie. >> this looks like fun and games but the cost to build one of these combat robots can run upwards of two grand, not to mention an engineering team putting

on saturday i'll be in japantown hosting a concert.will be a fun time if the weather holds up. it should be a good time. >>> 5:24. possibly damming testimony in the barry bonds trial. we'll have details on that coming up next. >>> and if being called the new drunk driving, so get ready to pay if you are caught texting behind the wheel this morning. i'm marla tellez. i'll tell you what you need to know about the latest crackdown coming up. >>> and a light at the end of the tunnel for a bay area clinic facing pretty serious financial trouble. >>> and here's a live look outside this morning across the bay bridge. a nice looking shot there, even though it is cooler. pretty nice weather on next few next few days. we'll keep you posted up coming up in a few. maybe it's because toyota has more hybrids on the road than all other automakers combined. like the 50-mpg-rated prius, the best selling hybrid in america. and prius was also named a best overall value of the year. plus, every new toyota comes with toyotacare, a complimentary maintenance

and japanese cherry blossom festival starts in japantown. >> dry weather for all of the festivities. >>> and the san francisco giants, of course, big ring ceremony going on tonight. they are set to play at at&t park, second game against the cardinals after their long awaited home opener yesterday. a dramatic win in extra innings. kim coyle has more, plus the sharks in the desert and the a's up in the twin cities in today's sports recap. the >>> good morning, everyone. for 29 teams, opening day is a symbol of a fresh start. but for the giants, it was simply the latest opportunity to celebrate their world series win. the man of the people, brian wilson went into the crowd to help raise the banner giants fans have been waiting for since 1958. wilson would blow the save in the ninth and the giants bats bailed them out. 12th inning, the game-winning hit on opening day for the second year in a row. giants beat the cardinals 5-4. fred anderson pitched a complete game against -- minnesota scores twice in the 8th and beat the a's 2-1. >>> round two of the masters, tiger woods birdies seven of

there's a concert in japantown's peace plaza in san francisco. t-shirts are going to be sold and donated items ralphed off. plus, several local bakeries and restaurants will be participating in a national bake sale from japan from 10:00 until 2:00. >>> time now is 8:20. search just resumed in los angeles county for that man that fell into the san gabe real river. he was hiking yesterday in the angeles national forest when he fell into the river from a rope crossing. the searchers have been on the ground, they're in the air locking for any signs of this man, but so far they've only found his backpack. >>> a federal jury cleared toyota in the trial involving sudden acceleration. the driver blamed the crash on a floor mat or a faulty electronic throttle. since then toyota recalled two million cars to fix floor mats. multiple lawsuits are now working their way through the courts. >>> san francisco police are putting business ownners the richmond district on alert. thieves are targeting shops. in february three businesses were robbed in one night. her

matter of fact, if you look at the newspapers in japantown, chinatown, they say, oh, here come the vietnamese, you know? they're the criminal group now in northern california. so this kid, he was murdered a couple years ago. they don't see the complexity of that. they don't see that other ethnic groups are making more out of the underground economy in north oakland where i live. like yemeni -- not all of them, but yemeni store owners, you know, south asian motel owners. like, they just had a big entertainment constitution in oakland, so they show these, you know, poor young women out on the block. they went to the motel where the operation curs, the headquarters actually of these operations, and they asked this south asian guy, did he know -- he said, he knew what was going on. he was making a lot of profit from this. the yemeni score owners, they are running liquor stores disguised as grocery stores. so you might get a couple of bananas, maybe a cabbage or something. but they're selling liquor. and carla worked with a young playright, yeah, carla. she worked with a young youngplayright, and

what happens in japantown will have echoes and the facts on the larger and western admission -- addition. thank you. >> thank you, karen. daniel, please. >> mayor lee, supervisor mirkarimi, the department heads, i want to say two things that stick out in my mind about this whole setting. i know the department of education is not here. we are talking about budget and money. however, our community is yearning, especially the disenfranchised community of the western addition, to be educated. when we speak about money, to really speak about money, you have to have an enlightened community. that is not so good that we are not discussing education at all tonight. in the spirit of the budget, i think a lot of times, it is so much money going toward law enforcement, we need to use a balanced approach. we have 800k coming out of the office of economic and work- force development. we have so many problems with them on how this money has been with our community. it should be a no-brainer, you would think, but you get resistance from people looking for a personal paycheck at the expense of a communi